Recently I have started quilting for 4-H. I decided to take on a patchwork quilting project this year. Much to my surprise, I am actually enjoying it. I was worried at first that I wouldn’t take to quilting and would end up hating it, but the contrary is proving true. Patchwork quilting is much easier and more fun than I had expected. Granted, I am still new to the world of quilting and am only making a large squared (7”x7” square) appliquéd quilt. It is an easy project and not nearly as complicated as some of the more advanced patchworks quilts in existence. Nevertheless, it is a good start and introduction to the world of geometry and fun colored cotton fabrics.
For my project, I chose to do an appliquéd baby quilt. It will only be about 40”-42” long and about 28” wide. The squares are 7”x7” and the appliqués are small to medium sized animals, hearts, and stars that will be attached via machine. I chose cute yet different patterned cotton fabric in blue, green, pink, and yellow for the base/main fabrics and added various animal and flower colored fabrics for the appliqué. The stars were a later addition so they don’t have a fabric all to their own. Finally the backing a cute, yet colorful fleece that helps accentuate the afore mentioned colors while adding a fun yet unexpected twist to the back of the quilt.
Luckily, I do have pictures of the fabric to share. I lost my camera a while back and haven’t been able to find it or a replacement so progress pictures are rare and scattered at the moment. Nevertheless, I was able to borrow my mom’s camera a couple days ago and took as many progress pictures as I could fit onto the sd card at the time. So I now have a few pictures to illustrate the afore mentioned quilt in progress.
The first picture is a collage of the fabrics for the quilt. All except for the purple fabric which you can ignore since I decided to use a different fabric for the backing. The second and fourth pictures are of the fabric for the appliqués while the third fabric is the base/main fabric. I apologize for the dimness of the photos. It was getting dark by the time I took them, and I only had a limited time in which to photograph my progress.
Much has changed since the above fabrics, in relation to the quilt and its sister project, a quilted and hand appliquéd bag for my appliqué project. I have cut out all the squares for the quilt and bag and sewn them into strips of four which will be attached to each other once the appliqué is done. Since only one side of the bag has appliqué, I’ve been able to sew that half of the bag together and am working toward finishing the other. I have yet to cut out or attach any appliqué as I have only recently finished sewing the squares and panels together for the quilt and bag.
Nevertheless, I am very pleased with my work so far. The colors match well and the pattern is turning out better than expected. I don’t foresee the machine or hand appliqué as too difficult, especially since the appliqué fabrics are all fray resistant. So far the projects have moved much faster and easier than expected. I hope they stay that way as I have less than 20 days to finish all my projects for 4-H and the open division at the local fair. Yikes! I dearly hope these quilted and appliquéd move much faster than expected. Much thanks to Make-Your-Own-Baby-Stuff.com for their simple baby quilt tutorial and adorable appliqué patterns. Both have been a great help to me and my project. if you haven’t checked out the site I recommend you do. Linky It’s a great site with lots of helpful patterns and tutorials and some really cute designs.
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